Bengaluru-based e-commerce unicorn Meesho has laid off 251 employees in its third round of layoffs in just over a year. This will amount to 15 per cent of its total team strength. The firm is backed by SoftBank. "We have taken a difficult decision to part ways with 251 Meeshoites constituting 15 per cent of the employee base, as we look to work with a leaner organisational structure to achieve sustained profitability," the firm said in a statement, as reported by The Economic Times (ET).
Before this, Meesho had fired 150 employees in April last year after it rebranded its grocery arm from Farmiso to Superstore. Then in August, it fired another 300 people as it announced the closure of its grocery business. In a note to its employees, as reported by ET, Vidit Aatrey, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Meesho wrote that the company made "judgement errors" in over-hiring ahead of the curve. "At the same time, we could have run our org structure in a more effective and lean manner overall," the statement added. While we are confident that Meesho's business will stay strong, the economic reality is here to stay. We are now faced with the hard truth of aligning our people costs with the new projections for our business, Aatrey added.